The Great Trouble

Coffin men arrive. Eel and Florrie watch as they head upstairs to retrieve Mr. Griggs’s body. The children are surprised by the workers’ cheerful aspects. The coffin men predict many more deaths to come, and this is soon proven true. Before they can head to their next stop, a girl rushes forward, asking them to retrieve the bodies of her mother and sister. More residents flee Broad Street while Eel and Florrie try to remain brave. Florrie heads home, and Eel warns her to be cautious. He worries less about himself than about Henry, who relies on him. He reflects that he doesn’t truly understand how cholera spreads.

Fleeing residents offer Eel pennies to help load their carts, and although Eel is sorry for the misfortune, he is glad for the money, especially given that he will owe Mrs. Miggle six shillings in a week. When he walks, exhausted, to Dr. Snow’s house, he is astonished by the difference between the chaos of Broad Street and the quiet, affluent Sackville Street, despite the proximity of the two areas. Despite his weariness, he mudlarks for a while before finding an empty barge to sleep. His mind races with worries and disappointment over his lost job at the Lion, and he abruptly remembers that today is his birthday.

Saturday, September 2

Eel wakes when he overhears Fisheye Bill quizzing Thumbless Jake about Eel’s whereabouts. Listening from his hiding place, Eel is impressed when Jake stands up to Fisheye and claims that he hasn’t seen Eel. Fisheye offers to buy Jake some gin, but to Eel’s relief, Jake refuses, and Fisheye leaves.

Eel returns to Broad Street where an exhausted Reverend Whitehead reveals that Mrs. Griggs and Bernie are both sick. Even worse, Florrie is nursing them, which makes Eel fear for his friend, too. Reverend Whitehead fears that everyone in the neighborhood is at risk due to the miasma. Dr. Rogers, who serves families in the neighborhood, walks by, looking grim. He doesn’t know how to help anyone who has cholera. Eel wonders about Dr. Snow. Although he has assumed that the doctor is too important to care about Eel’s job at the Lion, perhaps the great man will care about a whole neighborhood, even if it is filled with the poor.

He rushes to Dr. Snow’s house and reports the outbreak to Mrs. Weatherburn. Dr. Snow won’t return until that evening, so Eel cleans the animal cages. Back on Broad Street, one of the coffin men, Charlie, offers Eel a job loading bodies. Eel is initially disgusted by the thought of touching bodies, but he soon shifts his thinking, instead viewing the corpses as people who deserve respectful treatment. Charlie is also respectful, and he is sympathetic when he learns about Eel’s deceased parents. Charlie carefully marks each coffin with the name of the deceased person, though others of his profession find this practice to be pointless. The work is long and hard, but Eel is grateful to have two shillings at the end of it, especially after Charlie shares a meat pie with him.

Eel returns to the Griggs’s house, where Florrie reports that her family is still healthy. However, she is frightened by seeing the effects of cholera for the first time. Eel resolves to speak to Dr. Snow and to wait in the shed, if necessary, until the doctor speaks to him. Florrie shares bread and butter with Eel and teases him that he must be called Eel because he is so thin. Eel returns to Dr. Snow’s house, which is dark. He curls up in the corner of the shed, planning to knock in the morning, and cries himself to sleep.

Sunday, September 3

The next morning, Dr. Snow answers his knock. Eel reports the cholera outbreak and is stunned when Dr. Snow is eager to learn more. The doctor summons him inside; Eel marvels at the grand house as he delivers his report. Dr. Snow scoffs at the claim that miasma causes the illness, but he becomes worried when Eel reports working for the coffin man. He wants to know if Eel touched any of the bodies and demands that the boy promise not to work for the coffin man again. He also insists that if Eel enters the house of an infected person, he must touch as little as possible and never drink the water. This last point puzzles Eel, but he is eager to secure Dr. Snow’s help. Dr. Snow purposefully heads for Broad Street with Eel in tow.

Eel hurries to keep pace with Dr. Snow, feeling optimistic about the doctor’s ability to “save everyone.” While passing a statue of George II, he recalls a discussion with Florrie and Reverend Whitehead, during which Florrie confessed her hopes that one of her works of art might endure beyond her lifespan. As they walk, Dr. Snow requests more details, though not about any particular patient; he is more interested in the spread of the disease.

Dr. Snow explains the history of the “miasma theory,” lamenting that he doesn’t have enough proof to garner broad acceptance of his “new theory,” which he does not explain to a curious Eel. Reverend Whitehead emerges from a nearby house, pleased to see Eel healthy. Eel introduces the two men. The reverend reports that 70 people have already died. He blames the air, and Dr. Snow contradicts him because he believes that cholera is caused from “injecting by mouth some morbid material that causes the disease” (109). Eel is baffled by this wording; the reverend seems likewise doubtful. Dr. Snow explains that because cholera clearly affects the digestive tract, its source must be water, possibly the Broad Street pump.

Reverend Whitehead disagrees, because the Broad Street pump is known for its “good taste” and lack of cloudiness. Dr. Snow blames this thinking on the miasma theory, which connects bad smells to disease. He recognizes that it is hard to understand that clean-looking water may still be infected. He plans to trace the epidemic to lend credence to his theory and asks after a “local governance committee” for the area (111). There is a meeting Thursday evening, four days away, that may give Dr. Snow the power to effect change if he can gather enough evidence in time. Reverend Whitehead is skeptical but wishes the doctor luck. He departs, informing Eel that Mrs. Griggs has died and that Bernie is severely ill.

Eel urges Dr. Snow to attend to Bernie and is astonished when the doctor admits that he can do nothing to help those already sick; instead, he is focused on preventing further infections by identifying the cause. He tells Eel that although actual medicine will likely not be produced for a long time, the research is important. He asks for Eel’s help, but because Eel is worried over Bernie’s current peril, he stomps off. Eel heads to the Griggs’s home, where Florrie is watching over the children. She reports that Mrs. Lewis’ baby, Fanny, has also died. Eel reports Dr. Snow’s theory about the pump, and Florrie nervously admits that she drank some water from the Broad Street Pump but will not do so any longer. Eel comforts Bernie as the boy dies.

Eel is angry and frustrated at the unfairness of the situation. Florrie urges Eel to help Dr. Snow; the two part, reminding each other to be careful. Dr. Snow immediately recognizes the loss in Eel’s face but quickly returns to the urgent work. He needs Eel to help him communicate with Broad Street residents, as they will be more likely to speak to someone whom they recognize than to confide in a strange, upper-class doctor. He offers to pay Eel. Eel needs the money, but he thinks of Bernie when he accepts. Eel reports that most people get water from the pump for all their needs, though some have it pumped directly to their homes. Most use the pump closest to them, though some may journey further afield according to preferences like taste. He tells Snow about all nearby pumps and major businesses in the neighborhood, including the Lion and the Eley Brothers factory. He mentions the nearby workhouse and realizes that, as far as he knows, nobody from the workhouse has grown sick.

Snow praises Eel’s observations before indicating the water samples he has drawn. However, he is pessimistic about his ability to see cholera in water and indicates that speaking to residents will offer the most information. He asks Eel to try to determine the four W’s: what is the disease, who is getting sick, where do the infected spend their time, and when did they get sick? Eel suggests the addition of “why” people are falling sick, prompting praise from Dr. Snow. When Dr. Snow suggests it’s time to return “home,” Eel admits that he has lost his position at the Lion and asks to sleep in Snow’s shed for several days. Snow agrees and offers him meals as well. When he learns that Eel can read and write, Snow offers to add four shillings a week plus breakfast and dinner to his previous four shillings, which brings Eel to six shillings a week: more than he needs. When Eel asks, Snow gives him three shillings in advance. He does not give Snow a reason for this request, but with the extra money, he is now able to pay Mrs. Miggle on time.